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Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Old School Lane's Nickelodeon Tribute: Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide

During 2004, the most popular Nickelodeon sitcom was Drake & Josh. However, another Nickelodeon sitcom was competing to be just as popular, but with a very different setting and humor. That show was Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide which debuted on September 12, 2004.

The show takes place in James K. Polk Middle School where a young teenager named Ned Bigby (played by Devon Werkheiser) and his best friends Simon Nelson "Cookie" Cook (played by Daniel Curtis Lee) and Jennifer "Moze" Mosely (played by Lindsay Shaw) going through everyday school problems. With Ned, he documents everything he goes through in a notebook called the School Survival Guide. During the episode, it would focus on a school scenario like running for school president, dealing with bullies, being the new kid, or how to cope with substitute teachers and Ned would give the audience advise on how to deal with these problems. There were numerous characters in the show such as Ned's crush Suzie Crabgrass (played by Christian Serratos), the geeky kid Coconut Head (played by Rob Pinkston), the basketball obsessed jock Seth Powers (played by Alex Black), Ned's bully Billy Loomer (played by Kyle Swann), Moze's bully Missy Meany (played by Carlie Casey), and Gordy the janitor (played by Daran Norris).

The show was created by Scott Fellows, who previously was a writer and portrayed numerous characters on Weinerville. At the time, he was the head writer of The Fairly Oddparents and created Johnny Test. He wanted to create a show that was based on real kids going through real situations in school, but wanted to add a touch of humor that kids wished that they can go through in school. The show lasted for 3 seasons until it ended its run on June 8, 2007. Some of the actors went on to do other projects while others faded into obscurity.

Devon Werkheiser has been in movies and TV shows such as The First Time, Marmaduke, Three Rivers, Memphis Heat, Beneath the Darkness, Greek, Never Fade Away, and Criminal Minds.

Lindsay Shaw has been in movies and TV shows such as Devolved, Aliens in America, Teen Spirit, No One Lives, 10 Things I Hate About You, Pretty Little Liars, and Body of Proof.

Daniel Curtis Lee has been in TV shows such as Zeke & Luther, Good Luck Charlie, and Glee.

Christian Serratos has been in TV shows and movies such as the Twilight saga, 96 Minutes, Howling For You, Zoey 101, Hannah Montana, 7500, American Horror Story, and The Secret Life of the American Teenager.

Daran Norris was brought in by Scott Fellows since he was the voice of Cosmo, Mr. Turner, and Jorgen Von Strangle on The Fairly Oddparents. He also did movies and TV shows such as Veronica Mars, Big Time Rush, and T.U.F.F. Puppy.

There was originally going to be a spinoff called Ned's Declassified High School Survival Guide in which it involved with Ned, Cookie, and Moze going into high school, but with budget issues and Daniel Curtis Lee working on Zeke & Luther, the show never came to be. Overall, this is my absolute favorite Nickelodeon sitcom of the 2000's. It was informative, funny, quirky, and realistic. The characters, while most of them are cliches, are so memorable and funny. What was so great about the show was that, unlike most teen sitcoms, they took the characters and would make fun of them. Also, the tips were so great that it made you feel like you can actually take these tips and actually used them for school. That was very smart and I really appreciate that they would do that. Unfortunately, Ned's Declassified was overlooked when it first came out since Drake & Josh was hugely popular at the time, so not a lot of people saw it. Nowadays, this show has been rediscovered years later and has been dubbed as a classic. It was a show that was a standout when it first came out and it still holds up today. I highly recommend that you check it out!

That's all for now. Hope to see your around Old School Lane soon. Thanks for reading.

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About Me

Old School Lane was created by two nerdy best friends Patricia and Kevin on December 21, 2011. They talk about classic to modern adapations of movies, TV shows, video games, and everything else in between. This blog may be small for now, but it will grow into something special. We hope you're there when that happens.